ECUMENICAL

CHURCH
Group 2

BS-ARCHI 1-3

Members:

Baquiano, William

Chavez, Angelisa G.

Estrada, Nikko

Francisco, Ma. Melody B.

Galindez, Rodin

Geron, Janna Dara V.

Jimenez, Deosa Patricia M.

Nunez, Angela Faye

Reyes, Paul Jericho

Tapang, Jhessa Mae V.

Victoria, Sharmaine
 WHAT IS AN ECUMENICAL CHURCH?

The idea of ecumenicalism is associated with unity and universality. The word,
ecumenical, (Greek, OIKOUMENE) is used 15 times in the New Testament as a reference to
the "whole world," primarily in a geographical sense, as in Matthew 24:14.

In the post-apostolic times, various branches of the church associated with the term
ecumenical in the corporate sense. The Eastern church had its ecumenical synods and
theologians. The Roman church called its councils ecumenical. The creeds of the Apostles,
Nicene, Athanasian and others were called ecumenical.

Today, various churches are associated with the modern ecumenical movement,
primarily though affiliation with the World Council of Churches. This is a theologically liberal,
leftist organization devoted to the world unification of churches and religious entities. Most
theologically conservative, evangelical churches reject any association with the ecumenical
movement or the World Council of Churches, as these groups are identified with
compromised, pseudo-Christian philosophy, and the goal of forming a one world religion.

Authorities on the subject of prophecy cite that the Antichrist will arise amid a
reprobate, one world religion. A spirit of unity between all Christian churches, across
denominational boundaries, is a noble ambition that should be pursued. The body of Christ
needs to be united in their love, their prayers, and their evangelistic efforts to the world. But
not at the compromise of basic Christian ideals, as is embraced by modern ecumenicalism.
 SPACE REQUIREMENTS

EXTERIOR ELEMENTS

1. General

Exterior elements contribute to the first impression visitors have of the chapel and
the quality of services provided there. This chapter addresses the concept site plan, signs,
landscaping, parking areas, and entries and entry paths. The architectural compatibility
guide for each base will help in the design of these elements. Avoid using materials that
create an industrial, commercial, or institutional appearance.

Locate new facilities near the family support center, youth center, and gymnasium
for shared parking. This is also necessary because the chapel sponsors educational and
recreation programs in these facilities. The chapel should also be near dormitories,
temporary living facilities, and visiting officer quarters because these chapel users will
typically walk to chapel services. Do not use religious symbols.

2. Signs

Include facility, directional, and parking signs. Provide a building entry sign on the
site to clearly direct visitors to the main entrance. Chapels also require an outside schedule
board that complements the design of the building.

3. Landscaping

Landscaping elements help create natural beauty for visitors entering the chapel
facilities. These elements include water features, shrubs, trees, and flowers. Landscaping
helps screen parking areas and define building entries. Terraces and patios that serve as
informal gathering places or settings for outdoor wedding ceremonies should include
features such as tree-lined pathways, garden fountains, or ornamental ponds.

4. Parking Areas

Parking areas should be adjacent to chapel facilities, but not in front of the buildings.
Provide well-lighted parking areas with adequate spaces for peak attendance events. Locate
handicap parking spaces near building entrances. Include designated spaces for employees
and distinguished visitors.

5. Entries and Entry Paths

The facility entries and entry paths should be easily identifiable to first-time visitors.
Include several entry-ways with multiple doors to accommodate the arrival and departure
of people at large gatherings. Provide a vehicular driveway at the main entrance with a
visitor drop-off area. Include a secondary entrance to the religious education and activities
areas for public use. Provide a separate entrance to the counseling areas for staff use.
Locate a service entrance near the mechanical room.
 FUNCTIONAL AREAS

A. WORSHIP AREAS

1. General

The chapel should be easily identifiable with a high, responsible for the religious
support of base personnel and with a steeply pitched roof over the primary worship space.
This support includes community worship; individual use of stained glass sets chapel
facilities apart as places of meditation, pastoral counseling, and religious education, beauty
and spiritual inspiration. Chapel facilities provide the sacred spaces in which these activities
are conducted.

2. Sanctuary

The sanctuary is the congregation’s gathering place for worship. This space includes
the chancel (altar area), nave (pew seating area), and choir areas. All seating in the nave
should provide an unobstructed view of the chancel. Consider elevating the chancel floor
from the nave floor level to help worshipers see the services at the chancel. Seating, choir,
and chancel areas can vary in design to accommodate chapel seating requirements.

3. Narthex

The narthex is at the main entrance to the facility and serves as the entryway to the
sanctuary. If possible, provide windows between the narthex and sanctuary so that services
can be viewed from the narthex area.

4. Sacristy

Activities in this room include preparation of communion and vestment changing for
the clergy. The sacristy should be adjacent to the chancel at the front of the sanctuary.
Provide storage cabinets for altar appointments, communion supplies, and clerical robes.
Provide seating in the narthex to accommodate visitors awaiting a proper time to enter the
sanctuary. The sacristy requires storage cabinets for supplies and a work counter for the
preparation of communion.

5. Baptistry

Baptisms are performed in the baptistry. This space is typically part of the chancel.
Baptism may involve the application of water from a baptismal font or immersion in a
baptismal pool. Use ceramic, brick, or stone finishes for those parts of the baptistry that are
visible from the sanctuary and chancel.

6. Blessed Sacrament and Reconciliation Room

Include this room for the Roman Catholic clergy’s storage of blessed elements of the
sacrament, for the hosting of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), and for prayer
and meditation. Select portable confessional screens and portable chairs with kneelers.
7. Choir Room

The choir room provides a space for choir members to rehearse, robe, and store
choir supplies. Include a lockable cabinet for choir members’ valuables, choir robe storage
cabinets, a full-length mirror, and storage for sheet music and music stands.

8. Cry Room

A cry room permits parents with infants and toddlers to observe worship services
without disturbing the congregation. The room should be adjacent to the sanctuary and
have a sound-proof wall with windows. Cry room windows allow parents with infants to
view chapel services.

9. Bride’s Room

Weddings are frequent ceremonies held at the chapel. The bride’s room provides a
space for the bride and her attendants to dress and prepare. The room should be adjacent
to the sanctuary and women’s rest room.

10. All Faiths Room

Consider Buddhists, Muslims, and other faiths when planning chapel renovations.
Members will require a space for prayer, meditation, and rites. Provide finishes and window
treatments comparable to other worship spaces.

B. COUNSELING AREAS

1. General

Chaplains serve as counselors for the base community. The counseling areas should
be in a private part of the chapel facility. Sound-proof the chaplains’ offices so conversation
cannot be heard outside of their offices. The counseling offices in these areas should create
a residential, warm, and private feeling.

2. Waiting Area

Times of crisis often bring people to their clergy for solace and guidance. Therefore,
waiting areas should provide an environment of comfort and privacy. The waiting area
should not be in a public corridor. Locate the waiting area near the reception window so the
visitors can be directed to the appropriate chaplain’s office.

3. Senior Chaplain’s Office

The senior chaplain hosts commanders and distinguished visitors in this office.
Design this room to accommodate these meetings and for consultations with staff
chaplains. Provide multiple seating for consultation meetings.
4. Chaplains’ Offices

Allow sufficient space to arrange chairs for counseling and informal conversation.
Provide book cases to accommodate chaplains’ theological and ecclesiastical reference
libraries. Include a closet for storage of clerical robes and religious education items.

C. STAFF SUPPORT AREAS

1. General

Chapel staff support includes record keeping, correspondence, preparation of

worship bulletins, public relations work, funds accounting, facilities scheduling, and a wide
variety of customer support tasks.. This area should have easy traffic flow and include a
convenient customer service counter at the reception area.

2. Secretary’s Office

The secretary prepares executive correspondence and monitors the senior chaplain’s
meeting schedule and appointments. Locate this office near the senior chaplain’s office and
waiting area.

3. Chaplain Service Support Personnel Workspaces

Chaplain service support personnel accomplish all logistical, financial, and ancillary
tasks in support of the chaplains’ services. Provide file and storage cabinets for facility
records.

4. Staff Support and Mobility Supplies Storage Room

The chaplains and support personnel require a separate room for storing supplies
and using the bulletin folding machine. Provide shelves, cabinets, and floor space for a
variety of items. Mobility bags as well as Protestant and Catholic field kits with
supplemental mobility boxes will need floor space or deep shelving.

D. ACTIVITIES AREAS

1. General

These areas include large group meeting rooms, entertainment space, and overflow
seating space for worship. Locate these areas near the sanctuary and main entrance to the
facility.

2. Multi-Purpose Room

This room serves as a fellowship area for coffee hours before and after worship, as a
dining area for meal-centered events, as a reception area, and as a worship overflow seating
area. Select furnishings (folding tables and chairs) for the multi-purpose room on the basis
of maintainability, durability, uniformity, and appearance.
3. Kitchen

The kitchen should be capable of supporting catered meals for gatherings of up to

several hundred people. Locate this room adjacent to the multi-purpose room and include a
closable serving window between the rooms..

4. Conference Area

This space is for council and committee meetings, religious education classes, and
chapel staff meetings. Other base organizations will also use this room. This space can be
part of the multi-purpose room or a separate room. In either instance, the space should
have walls that inhibit noises from outside the room.

E. SUPPORT AREAS

1. Mechanical Room

Chapels contain many areas that require a quiet, meditative environment. Provide
sound insulation in this room to prevent noise from disrupting worship, counseling, staff
support, and religious education areas.

2. Janitor’s Room

Provide a deep sink and storage space for cleaning supplies and equipment. Include
ventilation for drying of wet cleaning equipment.

3. Electrical/Communications Room

Wall-mount the power and telephone distribution equipment, and floor-mount the
LAN computer file server in this room. Install a system of conduits (or raceways) for
telephone and computer wiring with a central feed to this room. Conduits/raceways should
have nylon pulling line and be easily accessible.

4. Rest Rooms

Provide two sets of rest room facilities. Locate a smaller set adjacent to the
counseling area and a larger set near the worship, activities, and religious education areas.

5. Storage

Provide a lockable storage room near the classrooms for educational materials and
teaching aids (books, papers, films, videos, VCR cart, tapes, tape player, arts and crafts
materials, seasonal materials, etc). Include shelving and cabinets for their storage. Direct
access to this room from the exterior allows convenient delivery of bulk, annual supplies.
 LOCAL CASE STUDY
CHURCH OF THE RISEN LORD
(UP ECUMENICAL MINISTRY)

Location: University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus, Quezon City, Philippines

BRIEF HISTORY

In 1947, a group of Protestant students in the old campus of the University of the
Philippines in Padre Faura, Ermita, and Manila led a student movement that sought to have
relevant “Christian presence” in the university campus. This was during the challenging
years of national reconstruction after World War II. The group sought help from the
Philippine Federation of Christian Churches (PFCC), now the National Council of Churches in
the Philippines (NCCP), in organizing a ministry. The University of the Philippines Christian
Youth Movement (UPCYM) was then organized. During this time, the Church of the Risen
Lord rose. The physical structure then consisted of a chapel, a fellowship hall and a
parsonage.
The UPCYM resettled in Diliman in January 1949 when the University of the
Philippines moved its main campus from Padre Faura, Manila to Diliman, Quezon City. In
that same year, the University granted recognition to religious organizations (among them
were the UPCYM, the UP Student Catholic Action, and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente) as
its administration did not merely intend to establish a campus; it meant also to establish a
community where students as well as its academic and non-academic personnel would
reside. To entice its personnel to set up residence in Diliman, the University found it
essential to provide for the spiritual needs of its constituents. It allowed the use of an old
bamboo and nipa chapel in the former army signal corps camps which was shared by the
Roman Catholics, Protestants and Aglipayans at designated hours.
 The growing number of student religious groups, student programs and activities,
and schedules of worship services created some problems in the sharing of the bamboo and
nipa chapel. In 1951, a proposal for the construction of a Protestant chapel was launched.
Fund-raising activities for the chapel began the following year. Sometime later, a lease
arrangement for a chapel-student center was negotiated with the University of the
Philippines.
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new sanctuary were held on February 7, 1954.
By the end of the term of the chaplain at that time, the chapel was completed and a place of
worship and fellowship that we know now emerged.
In 1995, the Church of the Risen Lord’s recommendation in 1994 that the UP
Protestant Ministry be changed to UP Ecumenical Ministry was approved. The change
stressed the opportunity offered to all NCCP member-churches to participate actively in the
NCCP ministry in the University of the Philippines.
The Church of the Risen Lord is now linked to and a part of the World Community of
Churches. Denominations do not stand in the way of its witnessing for Christ.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
This light, airy, modern structure was designed in 1953 by Archt. Cesar H. Concio, the
much-respected Filipino architect responsible for the National Government Centre and
several of the University's buildings. Steep arches form the ribs of the sanctuary, with
louvres for natural ventilation and wide glass panes for natural lighting. The simple, clean
lines allow for a more austere impact, just the right mix of solemnity and serenity.

Interpretations have likened the chapel to a loaf of bread, a saddle and a covered
wagon. A parabola defines the external configuration of the structure as a reminder of the futility of
man’s aspirations towards the attainment of a state of perfection outside of the Christian faith.

As one enters the chapel, the cantilever and the choir loft shields one from the
reality of human limitations and attention is shifted to the floor plan defined by its walls.
This plan defines a free and unobstructed flow towards the chapel, a promise that there is a
salvation from the imperfections of a parabolic world and of the reward of man’s
communion with his Creator. The tapering of the chapel’s width toward the chancel defines
an arrow pointing to the one true direction that we must take in accepting Christ as one’s
personal savior. Beyond a certain point, the floor widens again to signify the vastness of
God’s kingdom.
The Bread of Life symbolizes nourishment to the spiritual being of whoever feeds on
it; entry into the chapel signifies our commitment to God and the desire to partake of God’s
Bread of Life.
The chapel as a saddle injects the concept of a pioneering spirit and implies the
ingredients that make up a true pioneer.
The same pioneering spirit is recognized in the interpretation of the chapel’s shape
as a covered wagon, expanding involvement to a family.
 DATA ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

 The location is easy to be seen

 Near the church is a day care center where children could stay at while parents go to
mass

WEAKNESS

 Since the shape of the church is a parabola, the sides of the church are not equal

OPPORTUNITY

 The church is mostly being used for weddings

THREAT

 It has a weak foundation because the ceiling has so support in case of an earthquake
 Chances of it collapsing during earthquakes may be higher due to the parabola shape
 FOREIGN CASE STUDY
INTERFAITH CHURCH OF UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA

Location: University of North Florida, Florida, U.S.A.

Architects: Brooks + Scarpa with KZF Design Studio

Perspective of Interfaith Church

 The informal shape of the building footprint symbolizes an allegorical figure, such as
Justice, Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence and Fortitude. The buildings form draws upon
references of flowing formal gowns used in weddings and other ceremonial rituals. The top
of the building culminates with a large skylight that is shaded by a wooden lattice spire
whose form is derived from the symbol of infinity. This combination of flowing natural and
cosmic elements results in a unique, formal building while providing a warm interior with
soft filtered and reflected light. It inspires an indelible wonder; a dreamlike state of mind
that engages the user, heightens their sense of awareness, and brings a deeper
understanding to their experience.

Interior Design of Interfaith Church

The building is organized with a variety of features that reinforce a sense of spirituality and
selfreflection, and embrace the local natural environment as well as the macro,
cosmological world. Viewed from the center of the sanctuary, a window has been placed
high above the ground, facing directly north at 30 degrees above the horizontal. This
window is aligned with and provides a direct nighttime view of the Polaris.
Floor Plan

Elevation
 Front Elevation

Right side Elevation

Rear Elevation
 Longitudinal Section

STRUCTURE
The strategy developed for the structural system emerges from the intent to develop
a flowing, flexible interior layout shrouded in a gown-like veil. To achieve this intent, a wood
lamella truss system is utilized to frame the building. Initially developed for warehouses and
other industrial uses as a low-tech structure able to achieve very long spans, wood lamella
truss systems have been used for nearly 100 years.

Structural spans and individual wood glue laminated members are connected along a
pattern of intersecting diagonal lines to form a framed vaulted roof structure in an egg crate
like pattern. This approach to the building structure enables a viable systematic approach to
the complex perimeter enclosure.

The proposed design has other windows and openings strategically placed around
the building to allow for views and visual connections to adjacent lake, nearby woods, and
other important natural and cosmic features. Some windows are aligned with the winter
and summer solstices to allow for the penetration of unique qualities of natural light that
occur only during sunrise and sunset of this special moment. Other openings view the lake,
garden and provide a welcoming arrival to the chapel. All of these features allow the
opportunity for users to co-mingle with special moments of natural phenomena that
connect to and honor the role of faith and spirituality.
 SUSTAINABILITY
The building distinguishes itself from most conventionally developed projects in that
it incorporates passive and active energy efficient measures and optimize building
performance that ensure reduced energy use during all phases of construction and
occupancy.

The large roof structure creates an ever-changing continuous loop around the
building moving inside and out like a pen that is never lifted from the page, but reinforces
the intent to spatially weave together, as a single space, the indoors with the outside space.
In doing so, the roof also provides shade to cool the building, reducing direct solar gain,
enhancing privacy, while still allowing for great natural light and ventilation when humidity
is at tolerable levels.

Passive design strategies include: locating and orienting the building to control solar
cooling loads; shaping and orienting the building for exposure to prevailing winds; shaping
the building to induce buoyancy for natural ventilation; designing windows to maximize day
lighting; shading south and west-facing glazing; designing windows to maximize natural
ventilation; utilizing low flow fixtures and storm water management; shaping and planning
the interior to enhance daylight and natural air flow distribution.

Sun studies and a preliminary energy analysis informed the location of overhangs
and placement of glazing. Specific variations from the regional climatic conditions were
studied incorporating the microclimate with regional strategies; proper orientation, natural
light, materials and technologies.

Site Development Plan

 DESIGN CONCEPT

Form Generation

Spirituality is the concept of an ultimate immaterial reality: an inner path enabling a

person to discover the deepest value and meanings by which people live. The spiritual
experience should yield a more comprehensive self: joining with the human community,
nature, the cosmos or the divine realm.

These symbols are intended to evoke a sense of wonder where the world comes
from, why we are here, and to be moved by values such as beauty and creativity to reveal a
meaning or power beyond our tangible world.
 DATA ANALYSIS

Strength

 Have proper wall for sound insulation so the voice of the preacher or speaker will
not bounce back
 The large roof structure creates an ever-changing continuous loop around the
building moving inside and out like a pen that is never lifted from the page, but
reinforces the intent to spatially weave together
 Locating and orienting the building to control solar cooling loads
 There have a designed windows to maximize day lighting
 Utilizing low flow fixtures and storm water management

Weakness

 Does not have enough space for congregation

 The symbol of interfaith church is a wedding gown which is not used in all sectors.
Not all religions wear wedding gowns in their weddings
 Does not have storage room for chairs and for some instruments (like organ, piano,
etc.)

Opportunity

 The church is attached to local natural environment

 The Interfaith church has a prime location because it is inside of the university of
North Florida

Threat

 It is near a lake which makes it prone to flood

 It is near the woods which makes the users prone to some insect bites
 Does not have enough ventilation
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.victorious.org/churchbook/chur52.htm

http://shipoffools.com/mystery/2007/1368.html

http://churchoftherisenlordweb.wordpress.com/about/history/architecture/

http://churchoftherisenlordweb.wordpress.com/

http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/archshowcase/category/chapel/